It’s a common problem: An anticipated concert is marred by a venue’s subpar acoustics, a
favorite song is missed during a bathroom break or, perhaps most grating (and routine), talkative
patrons within earshot won’t shut up during that killer guitar solo.

Umphrey’s McGee wants to ease the distress.

The Chicago jam-band’s latest tour finds the sextet offering listeners an optional upgrade to
experience shows at their best — high-quality headphones that isolate peripheral noise to produce
the same sonic results as heard by the soundboard operator. A wireless pocket-size receiver
transmits sound to the headphones.

Such technology, at an extra cost of $40 a person, isn’t cheap. It also comes with a whopping
$500 deposit to prevent theft and neglect.

Still, “we’ve had nothing but positive results,” said Umphrey’s McGee bass player Ryan Stasik,
37, who will perform with the band on Friday in Lifestyle Communities Pavilion. “People can walk
around freely and not feel like a weirdo.

“We’ve always been trying to push the envelope.”

The group, whose progressive music relies heavily on improvisation, has long opted to keep its
concerts unpredictable and loose.

Players use hand gestures and head nods as well as speech via in-ear talkback microphones to
communicate with one another as impromptu jams take shape — a common practice that has become
second nature.

“Part of it has to do with playing with each other for 16 years,” said Stasik, who first met his
band mates while attending the University of Notre Dame. “We don’t like to rely on old vocabulary
or old riffs or safe routes.

“Becoming comfortable with the uncomfortable is something the crowd really enjoys. And it helps
us stay sane.”

A recent example was a string of pre-show Chicago concerts for groups of about 50 patrons,
which, while the musicians played, could submit texts to be broadcast on a screen by the stage.

In turn, the band would process stream-of-consciousness blurbs such as “slayer plays techno” and
“Brazilian baby-making melodies” and whip them into impromptu tunes on the spot.

Creative deviation, of course, can be risky.

“Sometimes, it’s going to be crap; it’s all about recovery,” Stasik said. “It’s still raw, in
the punk rock ’n’ roll sense, an experience to take chances. We’re human. We’re not perfect.”

Such attitudes might also apply to the Umphrey’s McGee business plan.

Last fall, the musicians offered various formats of a live album for $10 to $35. Other a la
carte options included a personalized album jacket created by the band ($125); a record-shopping
trip with guitarist Jake Cinninger ($199); the opportunity to introduce the group in concert
($500); and a pile of plus-one and after-show passes ($2,000).

Stasik, who grew up listening to Phish and Grateful Dead bootleg recordings, doesn’t mind the
practice toward his own work: “It’s the best and organic way to get your friends to listen.”

Although album sales comprise only a minor piece of overall income — their second outing was
jokingly titled
Local Band Does OK — the players continue to hit the studio.

Their eighth effort, which Stasik described as “a real rock ’n’ roll record” suggestive of
earlier fare, is due out in the summer.

Touring encompasses about 100 live dates a year and fuels the bulk of members’ livelihoods.

Add-ons such as the headphone rentals are what the group is counting on to help them stand out
in an evolving live-music marketplace.

Umphrey’s McGee, naturally, wants to be viewed as forward-thinking instead of gimmicky or
opportunistic.

“We don’t want people to think we’re just out there trying to make a buck,” Stasik said. “We’re
trying to offer unique experiences that most bands do not.”